7-6: Black Block

Congrats to (Rose) for suggesting Ricky Ullman as the best actor to play Ulrich. He was the best (and the youngest) choice. Therefore, this chappie is dedicated to her (?) and hopefully she (?) will put in an appearance at the Oscars next year.

(((-6-)))

"Why didn't you tell us you'd gotten your Special Ability?" Jeremy muttered as he put pressure on the vein in Ulrich's arm. "We might have had a little warning if you had just said something. Why do you always have to be so secretive?"

"I just wanted to go to the dance," she defended herself weakly, nudging the unconscious Pawn with her foot. "We need to put her someplace so she can't get away."

"And quick before Jim or anybody else comes in," Yumi agreed with her friend. "This really doesn't look too good."

"Tie her up and put her in the broom closet," Ulrich offered.

"Tie her with what? There's nothing here except soaked streamers, and I seriously doubt they'll help!" Odd cried out. He was still ticked off at Yumi.

"You've got a rope," the brown-haired boy said with a trace of a smirk.

Odd narrowed his eyes. "No. Way."

"The closet doesn't have a lock on it. She'll get out in two seconds if her hands aren't tied, and you know it!" Ulrich admonished. Now the others were staring at him too.

He glared at the gang before finally taking off his 'belt' where it had been hidden beneath his shirt. He tied Bloktra's hands behind her as securely as possible and hauled her over to the closet before stuffing her inside with indignation.

"Happy!" he demanded.

Ulrich winced as Jeremy tightened the cloth around his bleeding arm. "Not really since I can't go with you guys to Lyoko."

"Someone needs to stay with you to make sure you don't bleed to death," the spike-haired boy said slowly.

Yumi knelt down. "I'll take care of him. It's my fault anyway. You guys should probably get going." She looked over at Odd again and raised an eyebrow. "Nice boxers."

Odd hitched up his soaked slacks and left the building through the back door with the others.

Yumi helped Ulrich get to his feet where he stood breathing laboriously and holding his arm at an awkward angle. Guiding him outside, she sat him down in the quiet shadow of the building where he (hopefully) wouldn't be found.

"We just need to last as long as it takes for them to get past the Pawn on Lyoko and shut down the Tower. You'll just have to put up with the pain until then," she murmured regretfully. "Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

"I'll manage," he smiled weakly at her.

The lump in Yumi's throat refused to go away. She had thought she was doing the right thing. How long did it take for a person to bleed to death? The makeshift bandage was already leaking. She ripped a long strip from the bottom of her sparkling black dress and wound it as tightly as she could on him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "so sorry about everything."

The brown-haired boy cradled his bleeding arm but was somehow able to place his uninjured hand on her shoulder.

"Do you think I blame you? Do you think I wouldn't have made the same mistake if you had been attacked instead of me?"

She gazed into his dark, dark eyes, the guilt still stabbing at her unmercifully.

"You're not the one at fault here, Yumi. I don't want you to feel like you are, no matter what Odd says." He lowered his voice, "And don't worry about him either. I'll make sure he can't find any mousse for a week."

(V)

"If I'm not mistaken, it's a huge indestructible one like the Roachster," Jeremy predicted as he sped toward the end of the tunnel on his scooter. "All you guys have to do is make sure Aelita gets to the Tower. But remember that the big black Block is very deadly. No clowning around, Odd."

Janika tried to stifle her snort as they propped their boards against the wall and got ready to climb the ladder. They turned to look at her as she quirked a smile.

"Say this ten times fast: Yes sir, yes sir, Mister Fox, sir. Let's go kill some big black Blocks, sir!"

They blinked.

"Doctor Seuss. You know, Fox in Socks?"

They stared.

She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Uncultured! That's what you are! The whole lot of you! Let's just get in there and get it over with before anything happens to Ulrich and Yumi."

(V)

The snowy landscape stretched out in three directions, a wall of solid ice on one side. Spires of more ice speckled the area, none of them large enough for the big Block to hide behind. The cheetah- and panther-warriors covered the distance with caution, their digital friend leading the way.

"And you can't tell which Tower is activated?" Odd asked once again.

"Odd, for the umpteenth time the answer is no!" The blonde operator sounded ticked off from all his friend's pestering. "You guys are really close to the Block now. It's inside a gap in that ice wall just ahead. The Tower you're looking for should be around there someplace. I have two on my hologram."

"Aelita," Janika intoned lowly, "you'd better keep back. From what you and Ulrich told us about the Roachster, this could get nasty."

They edged over to the fissure and peered around the edge. Odd grabbed her tail and yanked her back just in time to avoid the blast that created a very round hole in the ground where she had been standing. The digital void far below could be seen very clearly through it.

"Yep, very nasty," Janika snarled, giving Odd a look that could have melted stainless steel. Her tail looked a little bent.

They darted away as the Pawn minced farther out into the open. It was all black except for the pale "eyes" and nearly as big as a semi! One eye caught sight of them and it scurried back into the crack where it had been concealed. Aelita and the other two hid behind a pinnacle of icy frost nearby to watch it.

"The Pawn isn't pursuing us," she noted, puzzled. "It's just hiding there."

"Hiding…or lying in wait?" Odd asked as he fingered his dart glove.

"Hey, I can see the Tower!" Janika crowed. Her friends followed her pointing finger upward. "It's up there on top of that ice wall…uh…surrounded by about ten or fifteen regular Blocks."

Hopefully my cliffy will keep you hanging for about a week or so. In the meantime, I want all of you to tell me what your favorite cartoon to watch was when you were a kid. (Final Jeopardy theme plays…)